Method of inspecting the dimensional accuracy of medical ampuls

ABSTRACT

To automatically examine medical ampuls to determine their dimensional accuracy, the ampuls are moved in a horizontal position on a chain conveyor in a cadenced manner through an optoelectronic testing station. At the testing station, each ampul is lifted out of the chain conveyor and illuminated by light from a diffusely radiating illumination source perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the ampul. In the case of one-point-cut ampuls, the ampuls are rotated about their longitudinal axes during the testing process. The light passing through the ampul is received by a photodiode camera system which converts the images into electrical image signals. These image signals are evaluated with respect to their changes in intensity produced by the tested ampul in order to generate measurement values for the desired ampul dimensions and, if applicable, for their deviations from standard ampul dimensions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method for inspecting medical ampuls fordimensional accuracy, wherein the ampuls are held in a horizontalposition on a conveying device and are moved in cycles through aninspection station.

Medical ampuls must meet high demands for dimensional accuracy since thequantity filled into them is not measured when the ampuls are filled.Instead, it is assumed that if they are filled to a predetermined fillmarker the desired fill level is accurately attained. The fillquantities are generally relatively small, so small dimensionalfluctuations signify relatively great changes in the fill quantity. Thisleads to a correspondingly great fluctuation in the pharmacologicallyeffective dosage for administration of the medications packaged in theampuls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the invention to check the dimensional accuracy ofmedical ampuls automatically and without contact.

According to the invention, accomplished by a method in which:

(a) during the transporting intervals, each ampul is lifted out of itssupport for inspection and is illuminated by transmitted light from adiffusely radiating illumination source perpendicularly to itslongitudinal axis, with the ampul to be examined being rotated about itslongitudinal axis if required;

(b) the light passing through each ampul is modulated in its brightnessby the variations in geometry and/or transparency, with this brightnessmodulation constituting optical information about the measuringparameters;

(c) the modulated light is directed into the beam path of a camerasystem equipped with photodiodes;

(d) the photodiodes of the camera system produce an image of the outlineof the ampul or-- in the case where the ampul being examined is rotatedabout its longitudinal axis-- of a sequence of individual surface stripsof the ampul being examined corresponding to a development of the ampulsurface; and

(e) the resulting images are transmitted as electrical image signals toa digital image evaluation unit and are there evaluated with respect totheir brightness modulation to the extent that measurement values aregenerated for the desired ampul dimensions and, if applicable, for theirdeviations from standard ampul dimension.

The invention is based on the concept of scanning each ampulopto-electronically and digitally evaluating the scanned values. Independence on the determined dimensional accuracy, the respective ampulscan be positively separated without interruption of production if afixed tolerance range is exceeded so that the production of rejects canbe determined accurately. Additionally, the practically delay-freechecking of all ampuls when exceeded tolerances are detected permitsimmediate access to the tools that produce the medical ampuls, so thatproduction of rejects can be quickly detected and eliminated. With theaid of digital evaluation it is also possible to compile a completemeasuring protocol for all ampuls of each production charge as a proofof quality for the purchasers of the ampuls. Moreover, the precision ofthe manufacturing tools and their service life can also be checked withthe aid of the compiled measuring protocols.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference toembodiments thereof that are illustrated in the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1A is a view of a so-called one-point-cut (OPC) ampul in the emptystate in which the axially symmetrical position of a colored marker andthe position of a scratch mark serving as an intended break locationrelative to the colored marker constitute special inspection parametersin addition to the outline dimensions of the ampul;

FIG. 1B is a detail view of the OPC ampul of FIG. 1a in the region ofthe colored marker;

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C are views of various ampul shapes according to DIN[German Industrial Standard] 58,377 to illustrate the outline dimensionsto be examined;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of a device composed of twoinspection stations for implementing the method according to theinvention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of an inspection station for checking outlines asprovided in the inspection apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the inspection station of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front view of a further inspection station for monitoringthe colored marker and the scratch mark on OPC ampuls provided in thedevice according to FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a front view of a lifter remover provided in the inspectionstation of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the lifter remover of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a top view of the lifter remover of FIGS. 7 and 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The method according to the invention is employed to check medicalampuls for dimensional accuracy. For better understanding, differentshapes and embodiments of ampuls are illustrated in FIGS. 1A and 1B. Theampul 1 of FIG. 1 is a so-called one-point-cut (OPC) ampul which iscomposed of a cylindrical body 2 and a more slender neck section (lance,funnel) 3. The transition region (bulb) 4 between the body 2 and theneck section 3 has aconstriction that is characteristic for all medicalampuls. When the filledampul is put to use, the neck section 3 is brokenoff at this transition region 4. FIGS. 2A and 2C respectively show alance ampul 1' having a body2, a neck section 3', and a transitionregion 4', a funnel ampul 1" having a body 2, a neck section 3", and atransition region 4", and a burn-open ampul '" having a body 2, a necksection 3'", and a transition region 4'".A scratch mark is made with arasp in the transition region of the ampuls shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C. Theneck section which acts as a relatively long lever arm, is bent towardbody 2 to break the neck section off. In the OPCampul of FIG. 1, such ascratch mark is already provided during the manufacturing process as theintended break location 5a so that this type of ampul is ready for usewithout any prior rasping. Since the intended break location 5a isproduced by machine and is difficult to see with the naked eye when theampul 1 is full, the OPC ampul of FIG. 1 is provided with a coloredmarker 5 above the intended break location 5a. The marker 5is preciselycentered, as shown in FIG. 1B, on the longitudinal axis 6 of the ampul.Furthermore the marker 5 has a fixed diameter, a fixed height withrespect to the bottom of the ampul and a fixed axial distance from theintended break location 5a. The intended break location 5a also has adefined length. All of these features are standard and must be coveredduring inspection of an OPC ampul in addition to the dimensionalaccuracy of its outline. The same also applies for the remaining ampuldimensions identified in FIGS. 2A-2C and corresponding to DIN standardDIN 58,377.

The special features (the colored dot 5, scratch mark 5a, andconstriction or break ring) of an OPC ampul as shown in FIG. 1 aremeasured with respect to their geometry with the aid of anopto-electronic inspection station 10 without contact on each producedampul, while the outline dimensions of the various ampul shapes shown inFIGS. 2A-2C are detected by an automatic outline inspection performedwith the aid of an opto-electronic inspection station 20 (FIG. 3). Theoutline inspection also permits an examination for the existence ofglass fragments. The device for implementing the method according to theinvention shown in FIG. 3 includes a chain conveyor 30 for supplying thetwo inspection stations 10 and 20 on which the ampuls 1 lie in ahorizontal, that is, prone position and move through inspection stations10 and 20 in directionof the arrow 31.

For each individual ampul each inspection station produces an electricalimage signal which is fed to an evaluation unit 40. The evaluation unit40also receives, by way of a terminal composed of a keyboard 50 and amonitor60, desired value data for the dimensions of the ampuls examinedin inspection stations 10 and 20. From the image signals supplied to it,evaluation unit 40 determines the various ampul dimensions according toFIGS. 1 and 2A-2C, compares the determined dimensions with the put-indesired values, and sets up and prints out by way of a printer 100 ameasuring protocol for each inspected ampul. In addition, the evaluationunit controls a display board 70 where a red and a green signal lamp areprovided for each individual inspection parameter. As long as themeasuredvalue for a certain parameter lies within the tolerance range,the green lamp lights up, while the red lamp for the respectiveparameter lights up on the display board when a tolerance range isexceeded. In this way, the operating personnel are able to determine ata glance whether and, if so, which parameters lie outside of thestandard. Another output 41 of evaluation unit 40 is charged with asorting signal if evaluation unit 40 determines that an inspected ampulis not usable. In a non-illustrated sorting unit the sorting signalinitiates the removal of the respective ampul from chain conveyor 30. Inthis way, rejects can be positively removed from the production line.The removal of an ampul is noted in the measuring protocol.

As shown in FIG. 3, the opto-electronic inspection station 10 forchecking OPC ampuls according to FIG. 1 includes a diffusely radiatingilluminationsource 11 disposed below chain conveyor 30. Due to itsvariations in transparency, the ampul 1, which moves in a horizontalposition through the diffuse beam path of illumination source 11,produces a brightness andintensity modulation of the diffuse lightpassing through its glass body, with this brightness and intensitymodulation constituting optical information. The variations intransparency are produced by the colored marker 5, the intended breaklocation 5a in the form of a scratch mark andby the-non-illustratedbreak ring. In this connection it is important, in order to avoiddistortions and thus measuring errors, that the diffuse light beams fromillumination source 11 extend perpendicularly to the longitudinal axisof ampul 1.

The modulated beams that have passed through the glass body of ampul 1directly enter, that is, without any deflection, the beam path of acamerasystem 12. Camera system 12 essentially included an optical system12a (seeFIG. 6) as well as an array of photodiodes as theopto-electronic image converter. Such photodiode cameras have theadvantage of high resolution and an accurate space-time relationshipbetween the position of each photodiode within the array and theintensity pulses originating from the individual photodiodes within theimage signal. In order to avoid imaging errors, the photodiode array isoriented exactly parallel to the longitudinal axis of ampul 1 andexactly perpendicular to the beam path ofthe light passing throughampul 1. Since the photodiode array at that moment furnishes an image ofonly a narrow strip of the surface of ampul 1parallel to itslongitudinal axis, it is necessary, in order to detect the coloredmarker 5 and the intended break location 5a, which is also provided onlyover a small portion of the circumference of the ampul, to produce adevelopment of the entire ampul surface. For this purpose, ampul1 isrotated during its illumination by 360° about its longitudinal axis withthe aid of a friction wheel 16 shown in detail in FIG. 6, with thesequence of surface strips recorded by the photodiode camera system12being combined by evaluation unit 40 into a development of thesurface. Thecomplete rotation of ampul 1 about its longitudinal axis ismade possible by the cyclic operation of the chain conveyor 30 providedin any case. During each stopped phase of chain conveyor 30, a lifterremover 80 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) provided in inspection station 10 liftsampul 1 from its support on chain conveyor 30 toward friction wheel 16in the direction of photodiode camera system 12 until the ampul 1 hasrevolved once around itslongitudinal axis. Then lifter remover 80returns the examined ampul 1 backinto its support on chain conveyor 30,whereupon chain conveyor 30 performsits next operating cycle andtransports the next ampul 1 into inspection station 10.

In a prototype of inspection station 10, the removal time, for a strokeof 10 mm and a lifting speed of about 200 mm/s, was approximately 100mm/s once the chain had stopped, while the lowering time was alsoapproximately100 mm/s. The photodiode camera system 12 had a measuringrange of 20 mm with a resolution of 0.01 mm. Per second, 1400 measuredvalues could be picked up. The radial resolution was 0.05 mm. A highpressure mercury vapor lamp having a power of 150 Watt and producing anilluminated surfaceof 200 × 50 mm was employed as the illuminationsource 11.

Further details of inspection station 10 are illustrated in FIGS. 6 to9, which will now be described in greater detail.

As shown in FIG. 6, inspection station 10 includes a vertical framework14 which is composed of a lower support 14a, a portal 14b screwed to itsarmsand an end plate 14c screwed to the yoke of portal 14b. End plate14c supports the vertical arms of a transverse member 13 that isconfigured asa carriage 13a, with photodiode camera system 12 beingmounted on the horizontal guide arms 13b of the transverse member so asto be horizontally displaceable in the direction of the double arrow12b. Carriage 13a rides in part on the side faces of end plate 14c andcan be displaced vertically with respect to end plate 14c by means of ahandle 13c and can be locked in any vertical position relative to endplate 14c by means of an arresting lever 13. Photodiode camera system 12also is provided with two oppositely disposed arresting levers 12c and12d in order to permit locking of camera system 12 in any desiredhorizontal position. With the aid of the mentioned vertical andhorizontal adjustmentpossibilities, photodiode camera system 12 can beadjusted exactly on an ampul 1 which is being pressed by lifter remover80, shown in greater detail in FIGS. 7 to 9, against friction wheel 16.The latter is driven byan electric motor 15 by way of an intermediatelyconnected gear mechanism 15a. In the mentioned prototype of inspectionstation 10, motor 15 had a power of 15 Watt with an applied directvoltage of 24 Volts. Gear mechanism 15a rotated at 100 revolutions perminute with a maximum continuous torque of 115 N/cm. Electric motor 15and gear mechanism 15a are supported by an auxiliary frame 15b which isattached to support 14a by way of an angular fastening bracket 15c.Electric motor 15 and gear mechanism 15a can be displaced withinauxiliary frame 15b in the directionof their longitudinal axis in orderto position friction wheel 16 exactly on the cylindrical body 2 (FIG. 1)of the ampul 1 held in lifter remover 80.

Also fastened to support 14a is one guide track 31 of chain conveyor 30whose second, opposite, guide track 31 is supported in a manner notillustrated. The housing for illumination source 11 lies flush againsttheunderside of the two guide tracks 31 and is itself fastened tosupport 14a.As already mentioned, in the prototype inspection station 10the illuminated surface was 200 × 50 mm, with the greater length of 200mm extending in the axial direction of ampul 1.

On the interior of each guide track 31, in the region of its upper end,a guide rail 31a having a rectangular profile is fastened by way ofwebs. The chain links 32 of the chain conveyor 30 travel on the guiderails 31a.A small bearing plate 33 is fastened to the interior of eachchain link 32,with the free end of the bearing plate being sloped like aroof so that every two adjacent bearing plates 33 form a V-shapedsupporting groove foran ampul 1. The above details of chain conveyor 30are also evident in the enlarged view of FIG. 7.

The lifter remover 80 (FIG. 3) is provided in order to lift ampuls 1 outoftheir V-shaped supporting groove in chain conveyor 30. Lifter remover80 isomitted in the view of FIG. 6 and its details will be described inconnection with FIGS. 7 to 9. As is evident particularly from FIGS. 8and 9, lifter remover 80 is provided with two parallel pivot arms 81aand 81b which are mounted so as to pivot in a vertical plane about apivot bearing82. Pivot bearing 82 includes two bearing blocks 82a and82b which flank pivot arms 81a and 81b and support pivot axis 82c.Bearing blocks 82a and 82b in turn are fastened to side members 83a and83b, respectively, of thelifter remover housing so as to be verticallydisplaceable. For this purpose, each bearing block 82a and 82b,respectively, is provided with a long hole guide or slot 84 throughwhich passes an adjustment screw 85.

In the region of the left housing end, at a bottom plate 83c, ahydraulic cylinder 86 is mounted whose piston 86a is articulated to theleft lever sections of pivot arms 81a and 81b. Piston 86a operatesagainst the force of a tension spring 87 which is connected, on the onehand, with a connecting piece 81c at the ends of pivot arms 81a and 81band, on the other hand, with the bottom plate 83c. Tension spring 87pre-tensions pivot arms 81a and 81b counterclockwise.

In the region of their right-hand ends (which enter into the inspectionstation) pivot arms 81a and 81b are each provided with a pair of rollers88a and 88b, respectively, which form two supporting grooves for therotatable support of the ampul 1 to be inspected. Each roller pair 88aand88b is rotatably mounted at two associated bearing blocks 89a and89b, respectively, which in turn are screwed to the respectivelyassociated pivot arm 81a and 81b. As can be seen in FIG. 7, roller pairs88a and 88b engage into the space between the bearing plates 33 of chainconveyor 30 so that a counterclockwise pivotal movement of pivot arms81a and 81b causes the ampul 1 disposed in the V-shaped supportinggrooves of bearing plates 33 to be gripped by the two roller pairs 88aand 88b and to be lifted vertically upward (lifter remover 80 in thelifted-out state). For this purpose, hydraulic cylinder 86 isdeactivated which causes pivot arms81a and 81b to be movedcounterclockwise under the force of tension spring 87. To lower rollerpairs 88a and 88b, hydraulic cylinder 86 is charged with hydraulicpressure, which causes pivot arms 81a and 81b to be turned clockwiseagainst the force of tension spring 87. In the lifted-out state,ampul 1is rotatably supported, as already mentioned, by each roller pair 88aand 88b so that ampul 1 can be easily rotated by friction wheel 16 (FIG.6). Tension spring 87 here generates the necessary contact pressurebetween friction wheel 16 and ampul 1.

As can be seen well in FIG. 9, the right-hand end regions of pivot arms81aand 81b are provided with step-shaped sections in order to be able toaccommodate, on the one hand, bearing blocks 89a and 89b and, on theotherhand, impede as little as possible the passage of the diffuse lightfrom illumination source 11 through ampul 1. However, the unavoidableshading by roller pairs 88a and 88b has no adverse influence on themeasuring results due to the illumination of ampul 1 with diffuse light.In this connection, it must be considered that the transition region 4of each OPCampul (FIG. 1), which is the only part of interest for theexamination of the colored marker 5 and the desired break location 5a ininspection station 10, lies in the region between roller pairs 88a and88b (FIG. 9), so that the transition region 4 of OPC ampul 1 is wellilluminated by the illumination from the bottom.

However, for an examination of the entire outline of the ampul, thecomponents of lifter remover 80 would interfere too much with theillumination of ampul 1 from the bottom by illumination source 11. Forthat reason, an automatic outline check is made in opto-electronicinspection station 20 (FIG. 3), whose structural details will bedescribedbelow with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. As this indicates,inspection station 20 includes a vertical framework 28 in which theguide arms 25a ofa horizontal transverse member 25 are rigidly fastenedto the upper end of the framework. A camera system composed of threephotodiode cameras 22, 23and 24 is mounted so as to be horizontallydisplaceable on guide arms 25a in the direction of the double arrow 25b.The three photodiode cameras 22 to 24 are arranged one behind the otherin such a way that their optical axes 22a, 23a, and 24a, respectively,lie in a common plane which intersects the longitudinal axis of theampul 1 to be examined. The optical axes 22a, 23a and 24a converge in apoint that lies below the ampul 1 to be examined. This means that theoptical axis 23a of the photodiode camera 23 in the middle extendsvertically and the optical axes22a and 24a of the two outer photodiodecameras 22 and 24 extend at an angle of inclination of less than 90°with respect to the longitudinal axis of the ampul 1 to be examined.

Below the ampul 1 to be examined, that is, in the region whereilluminationsource 11 is disposed in inspection station 10, a lifterremover 90 is provided in inspection station 20 and will be described ingreater detail below. In order to illuminate ampul 1 with diffuse light,an illumination source 21 is arranged axially parallel and immediatelyadjacent to the middle photodiode camera 23, as can be seen in FIG. 5.The diffuse light from illumination source 21, which is directedvertically from the top to the bottom, is deflected by way of a 45°mirror 26a onto the ampul 1 to be examined. Deflection mirror 26a isarranged in such a way that theoptical axis 21a of illumination source21, once deflected at mirror 26a, impinges on the longitudinal axis ofampul 1 to be examined at an angle of90°. For this purpose, deflectionmirror 26a is attached to a mirrorholder 26 that is fastened to verticalframework 28 (FIG. 4).

The light deflected by deflection mirror 26a onto ampul 1 is able topass through ampul 1 practically unimpededly since the ampul issupported only in the region of its axial ends in V-shaped bearingnotches of two vertical arms 95 of lifter remover 90. The light passingthrough ampul 1 impinges on a further 45° deflection mirror 27 which isattached insuch a way that the optical axis 21a of illumination source21 which passesperpendicularly through the longitudinal axis of ampul 1is reflected exactly into the optical axis 23a of the middle photodiodecamera 23. The mounting of deflection mirror 27 is not shown in detailin FIGS. 4 and 5. The transmitted light which is reflected at deflectionmirror 27 toward photodiode cameras 22, 23, 24 (FIG. 4) contains opticalinformation about the outline of ampul 1. This outline is completelyimaged in the form of three overlapping axial sections on the photodiodematrixes of the three photodiode cameras 22, 23 and 24. The use of threesuccessively arranged photodiode cameras 22, 23 and 24 is necessarysince a single photodiode camera is able to image only an axial section(for example, of transition region 4 of FIG. 1), as is the case forphotodiode camera system 12 of inspection station 10.

Lifter remover 90 includes two parallel operating hydraulic cylinders91a and 91b (FIG. 5) which are fastened by way of an angular fasteningbracket92 (FIG. 4) to one of the guide track S 31 of chain conveyor 30.This guidetrack 31 is connected by way of a bracket 29 with the verticalframework 28. The support for the other guide track 31 is not shown inFIG. 4. The pistons 93a and 93b of the two parallel hydraulic cylinders91a and 91b are connected with one another by means of a common yokeplate 94 which supports arms 95. The arms 95 engage in the space betweenbearing plates 33 of chain conveyor 30 and, when the hydraulic cylinders91a, 91b performtheir upward stroke, lift the ampul 1 to be examinedfrom its support in the V-shaped support grooves of bearing plates 33(FIG. 5). The stroke of hydraulic cylinders 91a and 91b is dimensionedin such a way that, at the end of the lifting movement, the longitudinalaxis of the lifted-out ampul1 is exactly perpendicularly intersected bythe deflected optical axis 21a of illumination source 21, as this isshown in FIG. 5.

In a prototype of inspection station 20, the measuring range of thecamera system composed of three photodiode cameras had a length of 105 ×50mm, with the resolution in length being 0.07 mm and the resolution indiameter 0.1 mm. A total of 1.7 ampuls were gripped per second. Ahalogen illumination source exhibited a power of 20 W at a supplieddirect voltageof 12 V, with the illuminated surface having a size of 150× 40 mm. The lifter remover performed a stroke of 50 mm at a liftingspeed of about200 mm/s with a lifting time of a maximum of 250 ms afterthe chain had stopped and a lowering time of a maximum of 200 ms.

With the aid of the method according to the invention, medical ampulsfrom 1 to 30 ml can be measured fully automatically and with respect toall standardized dimensions or features. In particular, the followingadvantages result:

integration of the measuring system in existing ampul production linesemploying chain conveyors;

implementation of entire inspection during the pauses in the productioncycle;

fully automatic examination of the intended break locations of OPCampuls;

fully automatic inspection of outline dimensions pursuant to DIN 58,377;

automatic detection of residual splinters in the ampul body;

automatic sorting out of the reject ampuls;

automatic sorting according to different ampul types ("lance classes"according to FIGS. 2A-2C);

automatic calculation of the size of a sample with separate sorting ofthe sample;

provision of statistics for total errors;

compilation of an internal error protocol;

compilation of an inspection protocol intended for the end user;

output of a statistical error distribution with machine capability byway of a sample;

automatic program call-up by way of a parts data base, customer database and article number;

separate operation of the individual inspection stations for OPC ampulsandautomatic outline evaluation;

interface for the connection of the measuring system to higher ordercomputer systems;

actuation of operator friendly monitoring and warning devices;

connection of the entire system into an existing control concept for theproduction line; and

simple calibration and examination of system functions.

We claim:
 1. A method for inspecting a medical ampul for dimensionalaccuracy, the ampul having a longitudinal axis, said method comprisingthe steps of:(a) conveying the ampul in a horizontal position on aconveying device which moves the ampul in cycles along a path; (b)lifting the ampul from the conveying device; (c) illuminating the ampulperpendicular to its longitudinal axis with light from a diffuselyradiating illumination source, so that light passes through the ampuland is modulated by the ampul; (d) detecting the modulated light with acamera system which produces at least one camera signal with informationabout the configuration of the ampul; (e) conveying the at least onecamera signal to a digital image evaluation unit; and (f) determiningthe dimensions of the ampul in the digital image evaluation unit.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the camera system comprises photodiodes, andwherein the modulated light is detected in step (d) by the photodiodes.3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of rotating theampul about its longitudinal axis while steps (b) and (c) are conducted.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the ampul is a one-point-cut ampul,wherein the camera system is disposed above the ampul, and wherein step(c) is conducted by shining light upward from an illumination sourcedisposed below the ampul, the illumination source and the camera systembeing located along a straight line which passes perpendicularly throughthe longitudinal axis of the ampul.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe camera system is movably mounted, and further comprising the step ofmoving the camera system to a predetermined position with respect to theampul.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein step (b) is conducted bypivoting a lifter remover having roller parts, and further comprisingthe step of rotating the ampul about its longitudinal axis with afriction wheel while the ampul is supported on the roller pairs.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the camera system is disposed above theampul, and therein step (c) comprises the steps of shining lightdownward from an illumination source that is disposed above the ampuland adjacent the camera system, and reflecting the light from theillumination source by about 90° to illuminate the ampul, and whereinstep (d) comprises reflecting the modulated light by about 90° to thecamera system.
 8. The camera system of claim 7, wherein the camerasystem comprises a first photodiode camera having a first optical axis,a second photodiode camera having a second optical axis, and a thirdoptical camera having a third optical axis, wherein the photodiodecameras are disposed so that the first, second, and third optical axeslie in a first plane and intersect at an intersection point, the firstplane being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ampul, wherein thesecond optical axis additionally lies in a second plane that isperpendicular to the first plane and to the longitudinal axis of theampul, the first and third optical axes being inclined with respect tothe second plane, and wherein the step of reflecting the modulated lightby about 90° the camera system is conducted using a mirror which ispositioned between the photodiode cameras and the intersection point. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the step of shining the light downward isconducted by shining the light downward along a beam path that isparallel to the first plane.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein thecamera system is movably mounted, and further comprising the step ofmoving the camera system parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ampul.11. The method of claim 7, wherein step (b) comprises actuating alifting plunger of a lifter remover to raise two arms of the lifterremover, the arms having V-shaped supporting notches in which the ampulis supported.
 12. A method for inspecting a medical ampul fordimensional accuracy, the ampul having a longitudinal axis, said methodcomprising the steps of:(a) moving the ampul to a predeterminedexamination position lying in an optical path which extends between alight source and a camera system, the optical path passing through theampul perpendicular to its longitudinal axis when the ampul is in theexamination position; (b) conveying signals from the camera system to adigital image evaluation unit; and (c) moving the ampul away from theexamination position, wherein step (a) comprises moving the ampul alongan ampul path which extends horizontally while the longitudinal axis ofthe ampul is substantially horizontal, and raising the ampul to theexamination position, and wherein step (c) comprises lowering the ampulback to the ampul path.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprisingthe step of rotating the ampul while it is in the examination position.14. The method of claim 12, wherein the step of raising the ampul to theexamination position comprising pivoting a lifter remover to raise theampul along an arcuate path.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein thestep of raising the ampul to the examination position comprisesactuating a lifter remover which raises the ampul along a straight path.16. The method of claim 12, wherein the examination position is disposedbetween a pair of mirrors which bend the optical path, and wherein thestep of raising the ampul to the examination position is conducted bymoving the ampuls between the mirrors.
 17. The method of claim 12,wherein the digital image evaluation unit determines ampul dimensionsfor a plurality of ampul features, compares the ampul dimensions withpredetermined values, and identifies any out-of-tolerance ampulfeatures, and further comprising the step of displaying anout-of-tolerance indicator on a display board for every out-of-toleranceampul feature identified by the digital image evaluation unit, eachout-of-tolerance indicator on the display board corresponding to arespective one of the ampul features.
 18. A method for inspecting amedical ampul for dimensional accuracy, the ampul having a longitudinalaxis, said method comprising the steps of:(a) moving the ampul to apredetermined examination position lying in an optical path whichextends between a light source and a camera system, the optical pathpassing through the ampul perpendicular to its longitudinal axis whenthe ampul is in the examination position; (b) conveying signals from thecamera system to a digital image evaluation unit; and (c) moving theampul away from the examination position;wherein step (a) comprisesmoving the ampul away from the light source and toward the camerasystem.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein step (a) further comprisesmoving the ampul along an ampul path to a position between the lightsource and the camera system, wherein the step of moving the ampul awayfrom the light source and toward the camera system is conducted bymoving the ampul from the ampul path to the examination position, andwherein step (c) comprises returning the ampul to the ampul path. 20.The method of claim 19, wherein the step of moving the ampul from theampul path to the examination position is conducted by moving the ampulsubstantially perpendicularly to the ampul path.
 21. The method of claim18, further comprising the step of rotating the ampul about itslongitudinal axis while it is in the examination position.